Shower sump issues

[Blackacre]

I am having a difficult time troubleshooting by shower sump/box pump. Everything starts working as normal, shower fills with water, float switch turns on the pump but then the water only sometimes evacuates other times is does not even though the pump is running. Placing my finger over the drain you can fell the suction building, is if there is a clog in the line somewhere between the shower pump in the front of the boat and the through haul in the back of the boat.

Sounds like a clog in the line right, only I took a garden hose and sprayed high-pressure water throughout the system to clear out any debris that may have gotten in there over the years. A clog also does not explain why it sometimes works and other times it does not.

Let’s rule some things out, I have two showers, one icebox pump and one secondary sump pump that all feed into a manifold and out the same through hole in the back of the boat. All of the pumps have been replaced with a gulper 330’s, all check valves are new, secondary bilge pump is new and I sprayed water through all the hoses leaving Aft.

What am I missing here? The aft shower or secondary bilge doesn’t appear to have any issues. The ice box drains slower then I would expect. The issues in the the fore cabin shower.

I’m thinking of running a snake from the through hall back up into the manifold to see if there’s something creating a partial blockage or restricting water flow. The only other thing I can think of is a possible crack in one of the lines were a loose hose clamp but I don’t see any water leaking if in the boat.

2007 Beneteau 46

[Blackacre]

Photo of sump system

[SVRocinante]

Perhaps a silly question, but do you have an inline filter for the shower sump?
Our shower sump has a filter on it; If I don’t clean it regularly, it starts to clog up and restrict flow.

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Perhaps a silly question, but do you have an inline filter for the shower sump?
Our shower sump has a filter on it; If I don’t clean it regularly, it starts to clog up and restrict flow.

Thanks for the comment. When I bought the boat they didn’t come with shower pan filters but I’m working on a solution for that now. I read someone on this forum said to use a typical green kitchen scouring pad cut to size, or perhaps I can find a screen at WM or elsewhere. I don’t think that’s my problem at the moment but rather a good long term solution to prevent clogs.

[Diesel Bill]

My shower sump pump is like a deck wash down pump. I'm sure it has check valves that might be sludged up or fouled partially blocking the flow. I like your idea of using a hose to power flush it. I'm gonna give it a try as mine in very slow to pump out the pan.

[Mediator]

We had a similar problem on our boat. Pump runs fine, pressure water runs through the outlet hose fine, but for some reason the pump just couldn't get water from the sump box to the through hull.

We discovered that our bronze check valve was somewhat sticky - pressure water would open it, but the weak Rule 500 would not. Changing the orientation of the check valve so the hinge is on the top (it is a swing check valve) seems to help, but we are going to switch to a more powerful pump so this problem does not reoccur.

[johnyred]

On the the pump on the outlet side there is a one way valve. You can unscrew this part and check the valve. Most probably it is damaged or there is some debris.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Blackacre

I read someone on this forum said to use a typical green kitchen scouring pad cut to size, or perhaps I can find a screen at WM or elsewhere.

We have one of these little widgets which has just started to leak, but it is 31 years old so not too shabby.

https://www.force4.co.uk/force-4-in-...ml?sqr=filter&

[Blackacre]

The check valves that come with the Gulper pumps are rubber and they have all been replaced.

I read some sailors pump vinegar and baking soda through the system to clean out build up. I could try that along with snaking out the system from the through haul back up the system.

What about an air leak in the system after the pump. Would that cause this kind of an issue?

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by Pete7

We have one of these little widgets which has just started to leak, but it is 31 years old so not too shabby.

https://www.force4.co.uk/force-4-in-...ml?sqr=filter&

I like this. Thanks.

[Flagship Marine]

Hum from the front of the boat to the back of the boat. I would look at how much head you have in the circuit and what the maximum lift of the pump is.

[Blackacre]

Originally Posted by Flagship Marine

Hum from the front of the boat to the back of the boat. I would look at how much head you have in the circuit and what the maximum lift of the pump is.

Thanks. I actually considered this but I concluded the engineers at Beneteau must have ran the numbers in the design process. The only modification I have made was upgrading the pumps from Gluper 220 to the more powerful 320. But I agree that since this issues is only in my fore cabin shower and the exit is in the aft of the boat the Head Pressure could be an area of concern. It is a pretty simple arrangement, I don’t what else to check.

[Flagship Marine]

AH, that might your first mistake! LOL Having been in the marine industry all my life we never relied on what the engineers at the French Irwins designed.

[GordMay]

What Flagship Marine said.


The electric motor runs but no water is pumped ?
Check:
a) that inlet hose connection is airtight, free fromblockages, and does not collapse.
b) that the shower/sink drain is not clogged.
c) that the valves in the pump are not blocked & are seating properly in the pump head.
d) that the diaphragm has not split - replace if damaged.
More ☞ https://www.whalepumps.com/marine/si...0217_sr_db.pdf

And ☞https://youtu.be/v8Xwi_HB-ek

[Tillsbury]

Agreed. Any builder that doesn't put a filter next to every pump can't be trusted to do number crunching. And pumping the length of the boat seems a big ask for a normal shower pump -- at least it makes life hard for it and there's no redundancy. Is there another thru-hull you could use nearer the forward shower, or does everything run together and the length of the boat?